Before we get into it, a little about our background. We grew up in Inverell before moving to Armidale for University. unbelievably, that was well over ten years ago now.

Uni was a blast, and it’s there that we first talked about starting our own business and working for ourselves. It’s funny, back then we didn’t have much taste for good booze and were suckers for great marketing, believing that a hard earned thirst needed a big cold beer and the best cold beer was … now not worth mentioning.

Fast forward five or six years after university, we were travelling through Canada and it was here that we noticed a big difference in their beer culture. It seemed nearly every town we visited had its own brewery. They still had a few mainstream brands available in pubs and bars, but nothing like back home where it was predominantly the same beers everywhere.We began to get a taste for these bigger and bolder flavoured beers and in turn tracked them down, one bar after another. Little did we know, each craft beer we discovered sowed another seed of inspiration for the Welder’s Dog.

Fast forward an additional five or so years and a mild interest in craft beer has evolved into a fascination and obsession to find the latest and greatest beers available, which there is no shortage of. The craft beer scene is now flourishing in Australia, particularly in the southern states as well as WA. A new brewery seems to be popping up every week – much to our delight.

So what is all the fuss about? How is it different from normal beer? Put simply, it’s beer that is made on a smaller scale than mainstream beer, it is much more labor intensive, more complex, it usually uses more ingredient and is made with love by beer lovers – not to mention it’s just a whole lot more delicious. Think of it like your Nanna’s home made soup versus a mass produced soup that’s been sentenced to the can. No comparison.

It’s really great to see the local scene getting some momentum too; by now, everyone would have heard of New England Brewing. We have also just had another nano brewery start out Argyle Road called Gara River Brewing, one has been approved out near the university and will hopefully get going later this year, Deepwater brewer Marshal Wiles has a cult following around here with his sublime brews, Bellingen has a nice little brewery as well … and who knows what else might pop up this year?

So over the next several months, we aim to bring you the latest news in the world of craft beer, locally and nationally, we’ll probably road test a few while we’re at it, all in the line of duty. Until then, we’ll leave you with our motto and the motto of most in the industry: “Drink less, taste more”.